Esteban is seen here photographing the Luxor hotel casino and hotel.
I stayed at the Stratosphere hotel which stands between the old strip and the new, and helped to distance me from the nonsense of Las Vegas. Upon our visit to the old strip where I was exposed to the "Fremont Experience", I witnessed impersonators, spray-artists, a pianist on the bed of a truck, ignorant protesters against all beings of this world, and finally the taste of deep-fried Oreos! I enjoyed the old strip because of the lack of diversion within the casinos as well as elaborate facades. Old Vegas put up no barrier, we walked in and there it all was; no lions in cages, no magic acts, just gambling. It was raw, it was honest, it was Vegas.
The Fremont Experience
The deep fried Oreos and Twinkies were available at Nathan's inside of Mermaid's Casino Las Vegas.
Through the arrangement of our teacher, we were able to visit the Grad studios of current UNLV MFA students, all of whom have studied under the wing of world-reknowned art critic, Dave Hickey. They shared with us the pluses and minuses of their studio practice and more importantly for those local to Nevada, they shared the influences that such a city has had on them.
We also had the opportunity of visiting Dust Gallery. The show entitled On It, featured a number of works by the collaborative German duo Venske & Spanle. The sculptures, which were made of solid marble found by the artist's themselves, appeared to be made of something closer to marshmallows than of solid stone.
A piece by Venske & Spanle installed at Dust Gallery, Las Vegas, Nevada
After gallery hopping, we visited the home of Las Vegas artist, Angela Kallus. Angela spoke highly about an education received at UNLV and her experience of being an artist in Las Vegas. She also spoke at length about her experience with Dave Hickey and his better half, art historian, Libby Lumpkin who just curated her work in the exhibition Las Vegas Diaspora: The Emergence of Contemporary Art from the Neon Homeland. Angela gave us strong advice in regards to grad school and she showed us her collection of paintings; some were her own, while others belonged to close friends such as artist, Tim Bavington, who she went to grad school with.
On the other end of the spectrum of Fine Art was a museum filled with glitz, glam and shazam! L-I-B-E-R-A-C-E!!!!! That's right everyone, we visited the Liberace Museum. We took a glamorous tour bus out to the Liberace Museum which unsurprisingly was located in a strip mall. The museum had tons of pianos, outfits, gems, jewels, diamonds, photos of dogs, beds of fur, st. christopher statues, and old ladies whose job it was to keep this museum running. All of these older ladies generously volunteer their time to keep the spirit of Liberace alive for those who remembered him and for the new generations of Liberace admirers to come!!!
The Liberace Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada
Ohhhhhhhhhhh Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Las Vegas.
That summarizes most of my visit to the city. On our final day there, Esteban and I used up all of our complimentary vouchers that the Stratosphere had given us for staying with them. We went up to the top of the tower for free, the view was spectacular and allowed us to see the entire city. We decided to ride one of the "thrill rides" entitled insanity. The ride strapped us into our seats and dangled us off of the edge as we were spun in a counter clockwise direction. I did not like the ride at all. But Esteban chose the Stratosphere based on the novelty and absurdity of the roller coasters atop of the highest point in the state of Nevada. On our final night we attended the American Superstars show where impersonators from Britney to Christina to Rod Stewart performed their hearts out for us. And let me not forget a heartbreaking performance by a chubby Tim McGraw.
It was spectacular! ;)
American Superstars advertisement; this poster was found on every wall of our hotel as well as every other billboard on the strip.
Insanity Thrill Ride at the Statosphere Casino and Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Having spent five long nights in the city of Las Vegas I am thankful to return to Chicago.
